Table Of Content
Like a scene from The Great Gatsby on the Arabian Sea. Nervous twitches about the Jehu setting are soon replaced by a little frisson of pleasure at the sight of this hotel, with its dainty awnings and palm trees, which would not look out of place in Nice or Miami. Have no fear, though — everything else is the same. You'll still enjoy the full fabulous MICHELIN Guide experience when you book, including our legendary service and delightful style. Every booking you make at a Plus Program hotel will be packed with privileges that pay for themselves in as little as one stay. Best of all, you can book as many Plus stays as you want, for whomever you want.
Our Interior Design Studios
The Club is set across two floors, with a rooftop pool (it wouldn’t be Soho House without one) for views of the Arabian Sea and beyond. This membership covers one room a stay for the member and any additional rooms booked for their children under 18. The company has rapidly expanded since then, building up clubhouses and opening its doors to many people (and sometimes too many of them, current members complain).
Local restaurants
The building that Jones is referring to is an 11-storey structure that he, along with Linda Boronkay, design director at Soho House, turned into a chic club for the city’s massive (and ever-increasing) creative community. “I love that the House feels local to Mumbai—from the design to the membership and the food and drink,” says Jones. The 23rd Soho House is also inspired by the city skyline that it overlooks.
At the hotel
Curated by Kate Bryan, head of collections for Soho House, this collection is made up of over 200 works, a majority of which are by artists from, or based in, South East Asia. Indian artworks include key works by Bharti Kher and Thukral & Tagra. “We are always conscious of making sure the art collection in every House is a good split between genders and diverse in every way possible, from emerging artists to museum level,” says Bryan.
Something called Frog Club gets reviewed by restaurant critics, even though the only way for the public to get a reservation is to email an address that has now been scrubbed from its website. The list had winners coming from categories including museums, parks, restaurants and hotels. Metrics like quality, originality, sustainability, innovation and influence were considered. What sets it really apart though, is that all the plush interior décor is done using fabrics brought in from Rajasthan. Some of the furniture is made of hand-woven cane, the lamp shades are coated with saris and the art pieces come from the hands of mostly South Asian artists.
In that way, at least, it’s not so different from hotels and restaurants, even those it might prefer not to be compared to. Aaron Allen, a hospitality-industry consultant, agrees with Burkle and Carnie that Soho House doesn’t have a specific peer among other luxury public companies. But he does draw comparisons to Major Food Group—the privately held and rapidly expanding restaurant operator behind Carbone, and also the members-only, $30,000-to-join ZZ’s Club in New York—and the Four Seasons, the luxury hotel chain now majority-owned by Bill Gates.
Boronkay says, “The team spent many months in India travelling around [Mumbai, New Delhi] and Jaipur to discover craftspeople who we then worked with to create beautiful objects from scratch. In Mumbai, it gets you access to a rooftop pool in Juhu with views of the Arabian Sea. That, and a sea-facing gym, restaurants, bookable guest rooms, invites to cool private events and a beautiful art-filled space to hang out, host events, meet other members and generally be seen in. Members also have access to Houses, events and the creative member community around the world when they travel. Spanning 11 storeys in a beachfront building in Juhu, Soho House Mumbai has given Bollywood beauties a discreet hub to hide out in. The design team scoured the subcontinent, returning with block-printed curtains and cushion covers, saris to use for lampshades and handmade Jaipuri tiles.
This is also Asia’s first Soho House, a members-only club for creative professionals.
The location, in Juhu, in the thick of Bollywood and the city's creative industries, is propitious. It’s part of a humble little collection of hostelries that originated in a quiet London street a few years back. Though clubby since the Brits made it that way, Mumbai has never had anything remotely like a club along Soho House lines – a gap in the market that Jones, with the prescience for which he is admired, spotted some years ago. There were hold-ups galore but he got there in the end and the result is impressive.
Soho House Mumbai: our exclusive review of India's hottest new hangout - The Times
Soho House Mumbai: our exclusive review of India's hottest new hangout.
Posted: Sun, 11 Nov 2018 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The lamp and tables by each of the seats add a little bit of an old-world charm to the room. However, it’s the block-print wallpaper that is the real masterpiece of this room. Daily screenings are held in here for members, who can also hire the place for a private event. For sundowners overlooking the promenade, the Eau Bar has the terrace (and art deco interiors) for you. Antisocial is actually rather affable – the club and music venue in an old textile mill is where to head for every kind of music, from Dharavi hip-hop to house.
Today, Soho House’s 43 locations now stretch from New York to Mexico City to Mumbai, as the parent company counts almost 260,000 members. In 2023, Soho House’s annual revenue grew almost 17%, to $1.1 billion. In addition, Soho House is equipped with a library, a 34-seater screening room, a rooftop pool, two restaurants, including the Mumbai outpost of the legendary Cecconi’s—a prominent feature of Soho Houses in London, New York, West Hollywood and Berlin. Antique handmade brass lights turn the spotlight on the colourful L-shaped bar that looks out to the Arabian Sea, with tables made from terrazzo and locally produced cane furniture.
The 11 floors of the club house close to 38 gorgeously decorated rooms. You can pick the kind you want, but know, the price is drastically different for members and non-members. Relate spiritually with all of the flavours of the world at One8 Commune in Juhu, while singing in different voices in honour of Kishore Kumar, whose former residence you’ll be dining in. Or stay local (in both senses of the word) by sticking to the Indian cuisine on offer at Dakshinayan in Juhu Beach. Fans of Bollywood (and Big Brother) will enjoy the novelty value and superb seafood at Shilpa Shetty’s Bastian in Bandra. Of all the Soho Houses I’ve seen, this is the perkiest and most playful.
For those who feel the need to earn their supper, there’s also an impressive gym, with floor-to-ceiling windows, all the latest Technogym kit and permanently pumping beats to get you in the over-achieving zone. Next door is a fitness studio for classes (HIIT, boxing, Pilates) and an outdoor terrace offering candlelit yoga – the sounds of traffic below and the roar of planes above melt into nothingness as you zen out. Although mind you, a stay at Soho House Mumbai accomplishes that same effect again and again, even without the yoga. Set the sceneHalf-past one in the morning, opening night. Bollywood in full fig, with a cast of thousands, all singing, all dancing.
